Liveblog: Game 43 – Canadiens comeback earns a point, but they lose in OT

What did we learn?

Brière scored twice and assisted on Brian Gionta's goal, which brought the Canadiens back from a 3-1 deficit before Clarke MacArthur scored a power-play goal 58 seconds into overtime to win it.

Colin Greening scored 13 seconds into the game.

And After Brière tied it 1-1, Ottawa got two in 14 seconds from Mark Stone and Erik Condra to take control.

The Senators had a 34-29 shot advantage.

MacArthur wins it

With the Senators on a power play, patient passing set up Clarke MacArthur for his 14th of the season.

A line is born

Daniel Brière, with his second of the game, and Brian Gionta brought the Canadiens back from 3-1.

And Carey Price kept it at 3-3.

On to OT, with P.K. in the box.

No scoring

Each team had seven shots, the best of which was a Lars Eller backhander Craig Anderson got a pad on.

Michel Therrien juggled his lines: Daniel Brière joined Tomas Plekanec and Brian Gionta, moving Rene Bourque to the Eller-Galchenyuk line and dropping Brandon Prust down with Travis Moen and Michaël Bournival.

Josh Gorges was paired with P.K. Subban and Francis Bouillon dropped down to the third pairing with Douglas Murray.

The Canadiens are 1-12-1 when trailing after 40 minutes,

Brière scores!

Daniel Brière, fresh from a two-game penance in the pressbox, converted a Travis Moen pass to erase the lead Colin Greening gave Ottawa 13 seconds into the game.

The jubilation didn't last long.

A giveaway at the Canadiens blueline sent Mark Stone in alone for his first of the year.

The Canadiens failed to convert both a four-minute advantage and a 5-on-3 that lasted 45 seconds.

Shots were 14-10 for the visitors.

Carey Price wasn't stellar on the Stone goal but made a brilliant late-period save on Bobby Ryan.

Oh, and there's a bat flying around the Bell Centre.

Welcome back

The Canadiens, who haven't played in Montreal since Dec. 17, make their 2014 Bell Centre debut Saturday night against an Atlantic Division rival.

Ottawa, sitting ninth in the Eastern Conference, is nine points behind the Canadiens and has played one more game.

The Senators have scored 13 more goals than the Canadiens – 122-109 – but have allowed an eye-popping 40 more goals-against: 138-98.

You wouldn't have attributed defensive shortcomings to the Senators when the teams met in Ottawa on Nov. 7. Robin Lehner made 33 saves in a 4-1 win, the only Canadiens goal coming from Andrei Markov during a first-period power play.

Ottawa rides a three-game winning streak into the Bell Centre, where the Canadiens are 12-7-2 this season.

Subtext to the game: Max Pacioretty, who has 19 goals this season, will be on the U.S. Olympic team next month. Bobby Ryan, who's scored 18, won't be in Sochi.

Chris Neil and Jason Spezza are out for Ottawa.

Daniel Brière and Alexei Emelin draw back in for the Canadiens. Ryan White is injured and Raphael Diaz is a healthy scratch.

My 5¢ about the WJC: The Finnish team played a better game than the Canadian team. Similarly, the Swedish team played a better game than the Russian team. Hey! Why is my girl Cœur de pirate not singing the anthem tonight? Still, it’s nice that the Montreal fans sing. Go Habs!

Here’s a crazy thought. When needed at home, why don’t the Habs use Murray in Parros’s place? I know he’s slow but at home MT can control when he gets on. Heck, he does not need to skate to challenge a guy at a face-off. On the road…forget it.

Interesting perspective. We (me anyway) often overlook the player’s role in free agency. It’s ultimately up to them to put themselves in a position to succeed right off the hop by choosing the team that best fits their game. But perhaps in Briere’s case the Habs were the only team interested in his services??

“Good Evening, hockey fans from coast to coast, welcome to HIO.”
(and Mr. Gallivan would also welcome those of you east of Buena Vista, and west of Vancouver Island).
“May you live in interesting times.”

Boone, you’re worried about Diaz not being on the second wave of the powerplay? When was the last time he had any kind of positive contribution in the offensive zone? (Shooting the puck 3 feet wide of the net doesn’t count)

Jols,
Were you posting during the Dallas game? If not, it means I won it by myself (ie. predicting the apocalypse). Unless you include the Burly watching/not watching factor. Have to stick with what works, so here’s my Han Solo moment:

I gave them a C. There are players on this team that suck, and the coaching and management deserves a solid F but, given that Habs did not improve a single bit since last year, it is somewhat surprising they are still in the playoffs picture. There is still time but to date, they get a C for sometimes not completely sucking.

18 year old Nathan Mackinnon is quietly having a great rookie season. He scored 2 more this afternoon bring his total to 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points. The Aves let him play center as well. Imagine that.

Imagine that eh? Sounds like a backhanded shot at the Habs.
Good for him to play centre but the Avs had to move O’Reilly to the wing.
We’re deep at C too but we are easing Galchenyuk in, and it’s not like he is not producing there. It’s a different approach and it should be respected rather than ridiculed. Seguin was eased in and he moved to C and the dividends are clear. There’s no point in putting that pressure on Galchenyuk when we aren’t even a contending team.

Ah yes, let’s wait till we are a contending team and then put him at center. That makes absolute sense. The fact that we have no chance of winning is the precise reason he should be learning his craft at center right now. Making his mistakes and learning so when we are contenders he will be ready. Not having him play center is just an excuse for management not to have to make a decision on which current center goes.

Habs don’t have to wait until they are contenders, they just have to give him time to develop. MacKinnon is already a more complete player than Galchenyuk and stronger on the puck. Chucky is going to be a great player but he is weak in his own end and there’s nothing to lose by bringing him along slowly. He is already learning playing on the wing and is earning more icetime as he continues to develop. The Habs have already stated that he will be moved to centre sooner rather than later so the whole “buying time” thing is completely false. Buy time for what? There’s no rush to put him at centre specially when we have 3 solid ones on the top 9. Best to take time to evaluate the team and see what the best move is rather than just rush him and make a rash move.

He is so weak defensively that it would just ruin everything. DD is such a defensive dynamo and never gets knocked off the puck when battling down low. Galchenyuk it light years behind that guy in the defensive end.

Honest question: is being better defensively than DD good enough to play centre now? I don’t have an opinion because I don’t know. I just recall some posters arguing that in terms of attacking skills and creativity and vision, Galchenyuk is more than ready to play centre, but that his defensive weakness in that position rules it out.

Actually DD is pretty strong on the puck and mucks it up along the boards, he comes up with the puck more often than not. DD may not be the best defensively but when you are grooming a player to be a top line C you can’t have them be weak in their end. That’s why it makes sense to bring him slowly as a winger and then transition to the second and first line rather than putting him there to begin with and risking losing his confidence when he is -15.

Out of all the Habs prospects at the WJC, Fucale is the only I think 100% will play in the NHL. He has the athletism and a strong mentality (doesn’t give up after bad goal). De La Rose has a good two-way game but has not played in NA yet. Reway has the skills but I don’t know if he will be given a real shot with his size (if DD can make it, he can). Lehkonen looked good but is injury prone like Hudon. Hudon has the heart and two-way game but seems frail. Collberg…disappointing. Should dominate when playing on the best team. Can’t imagine a team with Reway, Lehkonen and Hudon together one day…hopefully I will be wrong.

For the record, Dun, there can’t be a single reader who would even begin to think you show vitriol or disrespect in anything you post. You are like my friend Brian, the best communicator I’ve ever known. Proof is how you take on touchy conversations, and always do so with the utmost tact and respect.

HA, very sweet! And undeserved: there was broken glass and mercury all around my desk and smoke pouring off my poor keyboard! Put Bettman or Shanahan or any of the NHL suits in front of me and you’ll regret ever saying all those nice things! (But it’s much appreciated at the same time).

That’s a pretty severe misconstruing of the discussion on the other thread. But it’s always easier to attack YOUR version of your opponents’ arguments. I seem to recall you doing this a few times recently.

Hey smiley, I also found that walrus behavior insulting. All Habs were referred to by their numbers. Hope the Habs obliterate the Sens tonight, and that our more-tough-than-not D punish the Sens forwards as they cross the blue line and if they get anywhere near our number 31.

I listened to a Duthie-McKenzie “breakdown” of the loss — I was disappointed to hear McKenzie say that Fucale did not have a good game because I saw it more of a lack of overall team D — and their final analysis was the Finns tried harder and executed better. C’est la vie.

The great thing about this tourney was it was truly anyone’s game on any given night and “compete” was the bottom line. Teams lost to teams and then beat teams that had beaten those teams they had lost to. Excepting the Swedes. Those Finns have a tough opponent to see gold.

More than any other country that competes with Canada, I appreciate the Finns for playing hockey the way it should be played. And they are such a small nation.

But the main thought I had was regarding a comment here during that game about there being more pressure on our boys than on the boys of any other country. And that is a double-edged sword but more good than bad because the hotter the fire the better the steel. Gold is great but overcoming adversity is even better and if our Juniors can get it together and bring their A game to the next game then all is good.

I did not hold out much hope for the game against the Americans and Canada was great. They played the game I expected against Switzerland. They failed to play as I hope against the Finns.

I doubt any of these boys is going to forget any of this while next year erases most of it for much of the fan base. And the ones who continue on to represent Canada will be better for this experience, regardless.

Don’t find things much different from the daily postings with the putdowns coming from the usual sources. Of course, the targets presently are Almost Famous hockey players who are young. The depth and breadth of anger issues displayed is impressive. Not a surprise when it was revealed that 69,000 different visitors came to this site in one particular summer month. They can’t all be fair-minded, respectful people.

I’m being facetious when I say that you clearly miss the point of posting on HI/O : anyone – any fan of any franchise – can admit they don’t know it all, ask questions, or even comment constructively or with optimism now and then.

But here, the ‘ most knowledgeable ‘ fans in hockey strut their stuff by spewing the kind of crap you’re reading – again – today. It’s what ‘ knowledgeable ‘ people do, especially when bolstered by the courage of anonymity.

If this doesn’t sound right to you, check out the maroon who’ll be along shortly to ‘ get the party started ‘. He might lead with the promise of optimism but, given a bit of time, he’ll set a tone with a very credible troll imitation. Just wait.

From what I’ve heard it’s still his back. I don’t know if he will ever completely get passed it. Seems to be a nagging thing that surfaces each season. Even scarier is he missed significant time, which should have corrected the problem.

…already mentioned as one of last comments on last threat, but a repeat heads up for BC-based Habs Fans

…the Bulldogs play again tonight in Abbotsford following Their 2-1 victory over the Barrtchi led Heat Friday night

…as well, Bulldogs return again to Abbotsford end of January for another 2 games (?) …in particular January 31st includes Hall Of Fame Night, whereat one of Our Habs Hall Of Famers will be present for autograph and photo ops.

…I intended taking My Son and Daughter to tonight’s game, but I will wait for the HOF night

Good evening friends,
Never hated the Sens(always cheered for them over the Leafs) until last years playoffs when the fat, bug- eyed coach referred to Diaz by his jersey number. Am I the only one who dislikes Paul MacLean because of that?

Hudon I thought actually looked pretty well and poised with the puck out there , the very few shifts that he got . Drouin and mantha basically excluded him in any offensive play , and had Hudon been given pp time I’m sure he would have put up some points .

Hudon was not used properly. He didn’t earn Sutter’s trust I guess. When he was paired with mantha and drouin during the subway series, I thought he was the best overall player. At the end of the day, I’m sitting on the couch and Sutter’s is the coach so what do I know….

Sutter is a good coach for the CHL in North American sized rinks, I don’t think he is suited for the international ice. Team had little cohesion and I never got the impression that our highly skilled players were in a system that could take advantage of the bigger ice.

I thought he was suffering from a shoulder injury? Seemed when given minutes he played quite well, I’m not sure Sutter ever liked/trusted him. Hopefully indeed he can get over his injuries, I think he has very high hockey IQ.

Hobie’s hyperbole notwithstanding, do you really think Diaz is a puck mover? He doesn’t strike me as a great skater or a guy who has the confidence to make those rapid transitions, whether via pass or by carrying it out.

Except he doesn’t throw hits, knock people down in front of Price or play defence in his own end very well. He panics when about to be hit and either gives up the puck on the spot or makes a failed clearing attempt.

Seriuosly Hobie?
He doesn’t block shots…?
How do you explain that he is 3rd on Habs in blocked shots behind Jorges and Markov.
And Diaz is tied for 8th inthe NHL for blocked shots with Peterangilo?
He may not be very physical…but ge does block a lot of shots and does a good job on the PK.

Diaz surprises me..on the one had he is rather small and not a physical presence back there…but on the other hand he forms half of the PK defense that has been doing very well this season.
Maybe there is a trade in the works so MB wants to keep him healthy until the moves are made.
Or…MT just want a more physical back end against Ottawa.

It is so funny what we as fans get upset about. I get upset when Galchenyuk only plays 10-12 and gets no PP time. Others get upset when tiny tot DD is made fun of. Others get upset when Price gets criticized. Some get infuriated at the mere mention of a trade. How dare someone suggest we trade one of our heroes? Blasphemy. Others get upset when someone mentions how small and soft this team is. Others get irate if the coach or GM are criticized.

We are all fans of the same great franchise but have so vastly differing opinions of what is important for the team to be successful.

Oh oh, Team USA is beating Team Pacific Canada 3-0 at the World Under-17 Challenge in the gold medal game. Well, they better burn down the head offices of Hockey Canada. Bunch of no talent hacks we are developing. What’s wrong with Canadian hockey. We suck…blah, blah, blah…

A few thoughts on this afternoon’s disappointment. Canada never jelled into a team. They played as individuals which meant little cohesiveness when they had to play under pressure.

As well, their best players didn’t play like their best players. Once that happened, the liabilities of their worst players became even more imperative. Drouin was a prime example of this.

The team also was outplayed in terms of the basic core skills such as skating, passing and zone entrances/exits. I didn’t check but they also seemed to be out chanced, especially today.

You know what? Canada was never really in this tournament. They had a solid game against the US and that was it. I wonder, are there any lessons here for Yzerman and his brain trust? I sure hope so.

Most of the Hab prospects looked pretty good except Hudon. He’s still only 19 but his durability (or lack of) is a bit of a worry right now. Is this guy going to turn into a future Band-Aid boy? I’m being a bit unfair but it is a concern.

I liked Fucale in the tournament, but man he has to learn to hang onto those shots in his midriff and he should either learn how to pass the puck or just leave it for the dmen; he handles the puck terribly. But that was some save he made just before the second Finnish goal. I don’t think Carey will be looking over his shoulder for several years yet. I really liked the two Hab prospects playing for the Swedes and Reway is an interesting prospect. All three of them look to be better prospects than Hudon IMO.

Our boys sure had no answer for the Fins today. They got beat in every phase of the game. Why do I fear another shellacking at the hands of the Russians in the Bronze medal game?

Because the Russians looked a lot better than the Canadians today. Steve (24Cups) is right in saying that the Canadians never really gelled as a team. They were unimpressive in the pre-tournament games and in the preliminary round, except for the game against the U.S. (actually the second and third periods of that game), and did not look ready today. I think Steve is also right in saying they were outplayed in terms of basic hockey skills.

The Sweden/Rus game was really good I thought. Hudon always looks slight to me. He has a great skillset but every tournament or clutch game there is some reason why not. Drouin looked so alone on the PP, out there at the left point. I understand his frustration but opening his yap to the refs was only a sign that the guys weren’t hitting on all cylinders. But with the kids you know, one game they lose 6-1, then the next night, same team win 7-2, all goals coming after 40 scoreless minutes. That is the fun of watching them.

I would have liked to see a save on the second goal, but the first and third were on the defencemen. If we are making a list of things wrong with this team, Price ranks just behind the colour of the jerseys.